


The Not So Parent Trap

by Akinasky



Series: SterekBingo 2020 [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Because Killing off Our Favorites is Stupid, Childhood Friends, Cute Kids, F/M, First Kiss, M/M, Matchmaking, Multi, Pack Kids Galore, Parent Derek Hale, Parent Stiles Stilinski, Semi Canon Timeline, SterekBingo 2020, Without the Deaths, reconnection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24351649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akinasky/pseuds/Akinasky
Summary: Stiles and Derek are both single parents of daughters who found each other when Derek returned to Beacon Hills and have become besties and there's matchmaking of their dads.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Scott McCall, Derek Hale & The Pack, Derek Hale/Braeden (past), Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall/Kira Yukimura, Stiles Stilinski/Heather (Past), Vernon Boyd/Isaac Lahey/Erica Reyes
Series: SterekBingo 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729129
Comments: 10
Kudos: 195





	The Not So Parent Trap

**Author's Note:**

> This is semi canon in that most of the baddies happened when they did in canon but the people who died in canon didn't here, Erica and Boyd and Isaac leave instead of dying but they all come back together. there is a little bit of backstory of the changes woven into the narrative but just to give you an idea of what's different and what's the same.
> 
> Enjoy
> 
> SterekBingo Prompt: Matchmaking, Reconnection, Childhood Friends.

Stiles just barely gripped the back of his daughter's sweater and glared at her, Hanna just turned to roll her eyes at him, "Tata, we are like ten feet from the front door of the school that I have been attending for a year now. What the hey!"

"Hanna, you need to walk and watch out where you are going!" Stiles responded while Heather snickered at him from where she was holding onto Hanna's science fair project. They were helping her bring it in only because there was a parent-teacher conference then they were showing all of the different grade’s projects throughout the day and Hanna's group happened to be first thing in the morning which gave Heather and Stiles enough time to see it before they had to go to work. Nice thing about being the Sheriff's son, every once in a while, when it came to his granddaughter, Noah Stilinski was a softie. Though he was just as libel to get the shitty shifts as any of the other newcomers on the force. As his father would say, _‘fair is fair kiddo’._

"I don't know why you do this to yourself, just let her get hurt then she will learn," Heather scoffed.

Stiles expression was exasperated when he looked back at her, it was the kind of expression saved for uneducated idiots, even though he adored her Heather wasn't around the Stilinki family enough to understand just how much energy outweighed the possibility of being hurt and Hanna was just like her father in that way. She may be Hanna’s biological mother, but she wasn’t with either of them enough to know everything about them. Though she did go to school with Stiles for long enough to know _this_ about them. It was a strange arrangement, but it seemed to work for all of them.

"Have you met me?" Stiles asked her, keeping a grip on Hanna's hood to reel her backwards then pressing a hand to her shoulder in a firm but kind reminder of his parental ‘command’. She sighed dramatically and Stiles groaned, "You are spending too much time with your Aunt Lydia if your sigh sounds like that."

Hanna giggled, covering her mouth to muffle it after a second before she spotted someone and waved at them enthusiastically, almost striking Stiles in the face in the meantime. He looked over to see someone waving back, another girl Hanna's age with dark brown hair that had a gentle curl that seemed natural and darker skin like she was mixed race which matched the child like description Stiles had gotten a couple of times about Hanna’s new friend. Much like Stiles was like in school, Hanna struggled to make friends partially because her dad and grandfather were cops but also because she was spastic like her father.

This friend, willing to see past the oddities and annoyances that other children found to be unbearable made her important to Hanna and Stiles. Her name was Lore and she was Hanna's 'BEST FRIEND FOR LIFE, LIKE YOU AND UNCLE SCOTT!' though this is the first time Stiles is getting the chance to see her in anyway but afar, since she'd only joined the school halfway through the year and so far they had only been spending time in after school activities and at Lore's house (much to Stiles’s annoyance), Dad had gotten to meet the friend. _Seriously._

She reminded Stiles of someone, he frowned and finally released Hanna so she could run over to her friend and give her a big hug. Stiles watched the interaction with a soft smile on his face then Lore pressed her nose into Hanna's neck and slid it up a little in a gesture that Stiles knew from spending most of his teenaged years and adulthood with werewolves. 

Then Lore's parent turned around and they locked eyes at the sound of Heather's soft and pleased "oh."

"Derek Hale, what are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were back in town?" Stiles shouted as he rushed over to his long distant temporary alpha and nemesis turned friend and threw his arms around Derek's shoulders in a tight hug. Derek wrapped him in the hug quickly, not even freezing up like Stiles would have expected even as he rushed over. Stiles pulled back and caught sight of Derek's slight smile before he looked down and Stiles followed his gaze to Hanna and Lore who were staring at them a little slack jawed.

Derek pressed a hand to Lore's shoulder as he stepped away from Stiles, "Lore and I moved back a couple months ago and I thought Hanna _looked_ familiar but I didn't know her last name and she'd only been to the house a few times. I didn't know how to come talk to you after I left, I chickened out."

Stiles smirked, "Yeah you did."

Derek rolled his eyes and looked down at his daughter again, "Lorelei, this is a friend of mine from a long time ago. Apparently, you know his daughter. This is Stiles Stilinski."

Lore frowned at his name, "No wonder Hanna doesn't talk about her name, ugh."

"Lore!" Derek scolded, "That's not very nice."

Lore shrugged and Stiles couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter, "Derek, this is my daughter Hanna. Hanna, this is a friend of mine from a long time ago, Derek Hale."

"That's a much easier last name," Hanna said in a not-at-all whispered tone and Stiles rolled his eyes though he appreciated that this running joke was carrying on through multiple generations of sarcastic Stilinskis’.

"At least you can pronounce your first name, unlike your poor ole dad."

Hanna snickered and motioned to Heather to follow her with the science fair project and they hustled inside, leaving Derek and Stiles standing close and alone, though the little girls kept looking over their shoulders all the way into the building. So much so that Hanna almost ran into a closed door and would've ended up with a bloody nose or a black eye if Lore hadn't pulled her sideways.

Stiles turned back to Derek who was smiling after their kids as well, "I really should have guessed she was your kid but I didn't think you were with anyone."

"Heather is essentially a womb donor and she plays 'aunt' to Hanna but I'm not with anyone. She was a surprise and definitely one I would never choose to imagine my life without now."

Derek frowned, "Womb donor? Is that a thing?"

Stiles shrugged, "It was in our case, Heather didn’t want to have a kid. I was lucky she came to see me when she found out she was pregnant. She wanted to abort but figured I should at least be able to talk to her about my child. I begged her not to, saying that she wouldn't have to have anything to do with the baby unless she wanted to but if she would be willing to go through the pregnancy, I would take the child. It was a weird thing but my dad backed me up and she was willing to stay pregnant and she hasn't changed her mind, she loves being aunt Heather to Hanna and I think she just started dating again so there's that."

Derek nodded thoughtfully giving Stiles a fond look, "You still spit out a lot of information when you are anxious, it’s kind of comforting to know some things don't change."

"Shut your face," Stiles said, laughing anyway. He looked back to the front doors then back to Derek, "I have a shift today from 10 to 6PM, then I have to pick up Hanna from her grandfather but maybe you want to get some coffee sometime and talk about old times?"

Derek nodded, "I would like that."

They switched phones, programming numbers and taking quick selfies for profile pictures then Stiles rushed inside before Hanna came after him and Derek headed back to his vehicle. Stiles sneaking a peak back to see that the ‘bad boy Hale’ was driving a nice SUV, no Camaro in sight but at least it wasn't a minivan. Stiles, who didn't drive the jeep anymore, when he wasn't driving the Beacon Hills deputy cruiser was the semi proud owner of a run-of-the-mill sedan and it was bizarre having such a boring car after the jeep but Hanna's safety was more important than his nostalgia. The jeep held a proud spot in his two-car garage where he and his dad worked on it once a month and anytime Stiles was going out on his own for some sort of fun day, he would take the jeep but the sedan was easier most of the time. 

About the time Stiles was stumbling into the station for his shift, there was a message from Derek.

Sourwolf: _Coffee shop after you drop Hanna off at school tomorrow? Or do you have to work that early?_

Stiles did some mental juggling of his schedule and quickly responded: _I can do that._

Sourwolf: _See you then._  
  


Stiles smiled as he logged into the systems at work so he could start his day, shoving his phone in the top drawer of the desk as Dad walked out of his office and smiled at Stiles, "So, is Hanna going to kick everyone's butt like you boasted?"

Stiles scoffed, "Of course she is. I think the only real contender is going to be Lydia's son but we all knew that was going to happen."

Dad nodded, "Was she happy you were there for the unveiling?"

Stiles nodded and stared at Dad, "You okay Pops?"

Dad shrugged, "Just wondering about all your science fair projects and where I was when you were presenting them."

Stiles paused in what he was doing, "Is this some 'I need validation that I was a good dad' kind of thing? Because you are the greatest of dads."

Dad shrugged and Stiles figured that yes this was one of those moments.

"Look Daddio, I didn't really do the science fair stuff and you know that besides Lacrosse and Cross Country; which I did because of Scott and Coach, I didn't really do anything of note and you know, you were at the games when you could be, even to watch me warm the bench. I don't know what Han's science project has to do with you being a good dad or not but we got through it and you aren't perfect but you are the best dad I could ever ask for."

Dad nodded, sniffling a little bit. Ever since Hanna came along, Dad had these 'I wasn't a good father' spells and thankfully he didn't drink during them and since they worked together (for now, Dad was going to be retiring soon) they were able to talk it through most of the time.

Since Dad was only working in the office part time, he was also Hanna's main babysitter. Most of his friends had kids but all of them worked so the grandparents were usually the ones they called in for help. Hanna loved her 'Pop-Pop' and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Dad pressed a hand to Stiles's shoulder in comfort and thanks, Stiles squeezing it just a little before they parted and he got to work. Hanna was going to be riding high this afternoon and he was going to need all his work done so he could focus his attention on her once he got out of work. She was going to be doubly excited that he finally met Lore and as an added bonus: knew Lore's father.  
  


The next day Stiles looked up from his phone when Derek put his drink on the table in front of him then sat down across the table, smiling a little at each other. "Wow, this is crazy," Stiles finally said after probably an awkward amount of silence. 

"Yeah, though not as crazy as most of your high school career."

Stiles waggled his eyebrows, "And you weren't even around for the crap in Senior year."

"Thank god," Derek exclaimed but then sobered a little, "I'm glad you survived and I am sorry I wasn't around for more of it."

Stiles reached out and gripped Derek's wrist, "Don't do that to yourself, Derek, you should have left especially if it means that you have Lore and you have this peace about you that I have never fucking seen before."

Derek nodded, smiling a little, "Language?" 

Stiles snorted, pulling his hand back, "My kid isn't here, I am going to take the opportunity as the blessing it is and cuss all I want."

"Understandable."

They fell silent again and Stiles just watched Derek's eyes flit over his face and shoulders and down at the simple BHHS County navy shirt he was wearing, a far cry from his 'Stud Muffin' shirt. Stiles took the opportunity to look at Derek too, he was scruffy as always and there was a little bit of grey in his beard which made him look distinguished as fuck. He was wearing a comfy looking sweater under a leather jacket but this one was fur lined and not at all tough like the one he wore for most of the time Stiles knew him. Derek wasn't overly muscled like he was when he first turned alpha but he wasn't skinny either, like when he came to Beacon Hills after Laura died.

This Derek Hale was comfortable in his skin and it was sexy as all hell.

Stiles opened his mouth and words started tumbling out without his brain’s consent, "You like what you see?"

Derek grinned, showing off his slight bunny teeth, "Yeah but then I always did. You look good, fatherhood agrees with you, no matter the situation."

Stiles flushed a little under the compliment and seeing the flirting for what it was, "So, Lorelai? I like it, similar to Laura but very unique."

Derek nodded, "Braeden shut down the naming her any name of my dead family members, not that I would have done that anyway but she was okay with Lorelai. She loved her."

"Past tense?" Stiles asked, thinking of the bounty hunter that had saved them more than once.

"Yeah, she refused to give up her bounty hunter lifestyle and I didn't really feel like fighting her on it. I got it, really. And it was good money and supported us for a while. I convinced her to stop while she was pregnant only because I told her that I would continue in her place. Being a werewolf made the up-close tracking supremely easy and she was still capable of doing and teaching me the computer and digging aspect of the gig. I kept using guns, instead of my claws, but when Lore came along Braeden barely made it to six weeks before she was pumping herself dry and getting back out there. We found a wet nurse because Lore wouldn't drink the formula and Braeden wasn't willing to continue pumping because it made her uncomfortable and her body was unpredictable in the field. That couldn't happen. Then, right around Lore's first birthday, Braeden was killed and we have been leaning on our pack mates and coming back here ever since but it was a long road that I wasn't willing to traverse quickly. We stayed with Cora for a long time, found Isaac, Erica and Boyd. We even found Jackson and Ethan. A child in a pack, especially one like ours is like a beacon of hope and together we came home to rebuild where the Hales were first born. Lore deserves her heritage."

Stiles reached out again and squeezed Derek's wrist gently, "Wow, that's quite a story, thank you for sharing it with me."

Derek smiled, "I figured if anyone would get it completely, outside the pack, it would be you."

“You were right.”

They both went back to their drinks for a few minutes, just sitting together for a few moments and letting the silence give back to them what no talking ever could.

Of course, Stiles broke that first, like they both knew that he would. “What about the others? They here too?”

Derek nodded, “Jackson and Ethan have their own place just outside of town but they retain a place in the UK as well. Cora, Isaac, Boyd and Erica are with me and Lore. How about your pack here?”

Stiles ticked them off on his fingers, “Well Scott and Kira are busy making beautiful babies by accident because they are stupid about birth control, I think she is going to make an honest man out of him any day now. Lydia is in between dudes at the moment but she has a son Hanna’s age and this beautiful little girl, just turned two and she is a little red headed princess. Besides Hanna, Stella is one of my favorite little people. Baby betas all come and go as they please obviously as they are still shitty little cretins. Parrish is set to take over for my dad if I can get him out of the Sheriff’s seat. Things have been settled for a while now, and I bet finding out the Hale’s are back in Beacon Hills is going to make anything think twice before coming here.”

Derek rolled his eyes.

“Are you…” Stiles faltered, not really knowing how to ask what he wanted to ask. He tried again, “Do you have rose colored glasses again?”

Derek frowned for a moment, trying to parse what the heck that meant then rolled his eyes again, before flashing them. They were red.

“Did you get them in a fight?” Stiles whispered, looking around making sure that the few patrons had no interest in their conversation.

“No,” Derek shook his head, “Didn’t need to. When I went to Cora, for some reason it was just there like it had been waiting for me to accept it or something. I think my mom would have been proud that I was still carrying the power of the Hale line in me.”

Stiles nodded, “I think she would too. And just so you know, I wouldn’t have thought any differently about you if you’d gotten those eyes changed through another way.”

Derek smiled, “You always were far more shades of grey than Scott ever was.”

Stiles smirked, “You know it. Though do me a favor and don’t remind my father, you know, the Sheriff.”

“I’m pretty sure he knows,” Derek said, eyebrow arching.

“Remind me sometime when we aren’t in a coffee shop to tell you about this thing where Dad threatened to burn down the station for me.”

“You kind of just told me,” Derek said.

“Not really, that story is going to take a minute or two and the conversation with my dad is at the end of a very hard couple of weeks.”

“Well, I will listen whenever you are ready to tell me.”

Stiles looked down, away from the intense gaze Derek levered at him, fiddling with his cup for a minute. “So, you wanna go out sometime, like on a date?” Stiles still wasn’t looking up, Derek saying nothing while Stiles kept messing with his cup. Derek’s hand crossed the short distance and tapped on Stiles’s knuckles to make him look up and he was flushed in the cheeks but smiling.

“I would like that,” Derek murmured.

“Great,” Stiles responded quietly, struck dumb by Derek’s content face. It was so different from the Sourwolf he knew when they were younger and twice as handsome. They finished up their drinks and headed off, not able to make any concrete plans for their date without consulting schedules and children activities.

Derek watched as Stiles got back into his sedan and drove away before he headed back to his place, used to be the crappy loft but it had been revamped and turned into a store front on the first floor and the three floors above were apartments, four per floor on two and three and then the top floor was an open floor plan loft with two rooms, which is where Derek and Lorelai lived and they had been hosting pack nights as well because they have the most open space.

Derek opened the front door of the store; an art gallery with a book nook and a coffee stand. It was eclectic without being overly crowded. There were several artists on display and Boyd and Cora worked in the bookstore and gallery while Isaac and Erica manned the coffee stand. It was kind of a front for all of them to be together when they want to be as well as support several of their passions in a small town. They were doing pretty well; people were interested in them so they came into the shop. Once they were there, the art was a pull and the book nook was quiet and compelling for anyone needing a break.

“Hey Derek,” Cora called from her spot in the corner as she ‘worked’ which mostly consisted of reading whatever books she ordered into the store for herself and specifically trying not to scare off customers. Derek loved her so much.

“Hey Core, what are you reading today?”

“Something new came in the shipment today, something about when the computers rise up against us.”

“So, half of the sci-fi books out there?” Derek snarked.

Cora flipped him off and went back to her book. Erica and Isaac were both at the counter, pretending not to be canoodling and Derek snorted, “Don’t you three have some kind of rule book for what’s allowed when one isn’t around?”

Erica snorted, they have had this conversation a billion times, “Of course not.”

“Well lucky for me, I have rules about what you are not allowed to do when you are in my shop.”

“Our shop,” three voices called out and Derek laughed. Another joke that’s been around as long as the store’s been open. Apparently, it hadn’t run its course yet.

Derek freaking loved it.

All of it.

The comradery.

The shared space.

The pack that stayed with him because they loved him and his daughter.

“Blech, your happiness is harshing the mood,” Erica faux gagged while Isaac just watched the exchange with fondness with one hand propping his chin on the high counter and the other rubbing up and down Erica’s back. At least no hands were underneath clothes, small miracle. Derek was specifically _not_ using his nose whenever they were around these days.

“Maybe take your pregnancy hormones back upstairs and Cora can run things here for a while.”

Three voices called out again, “Nope.”

“Cora doesn’t know how to make black coffee,” Erica chortled, throwing her head back in enthused laughter.

“Nor do I want to talk to anyone in need of a Frappuccino or a macchiato.”

“Where is Boyd anyway?” Derek asked as he walked over to the table near the artist part of the shop and grabbed the IPad that was locked inside the little drawer underneath. It was only there while the place was open, not that anyone was getting into a store owned by a werewolf pack. Derek started looking over the numbers and emails for the store as the others considered answering him.

“Boyd went to get that stuff from Michaels, including the new painting we just got framed. He should be back just in time for our nooner.”

Now it was Derek’s turn to gag, and it wasn’t really completely fake, “I didn’t need to know that.”

“And where you all morning, Sir Alpha Sir?” Erica asked.

“I went to coffee with Stiles,” there was never any use in lying to a room full of werewolves.

Everything stopped and they all stared at him.

“Yes?” Derek asked without looking up.

“Did you ask him out?”

“How is he?”

“Is he as hot as he always was?”

All the questions came in quick succession, Cora then Isaac then Erica obviously. He answered them in the order they came. “I didn’t ask him out,” before Cora could complain about that he talked over her, “He asked me out actually and I said yes.”

“Good Derek,” Cora replied, pleased.

“He seems to be doing okay and fatherhood definitely agrees with him, we will come back to that. And he’s is way more handsome than he ever was in high school.”

Everyone cooed like a bunch of teenagers instead of the adults they were pretending to be on any given day. Derek rolled his eyes and answered a couple emails about orders while they made fun of him for waiting for Stiles to ask him out. Derek opened another email about a special request from one of their customers in regards to one of their signature artists. Not that anyone knew who the artist was.

That was one of the reasons that people loved the art, there was this layer of mystique.

Not that it was mysterious to anyone in the shop.

They’d been seeing Derek’s work for years.

“There’s another order for D. Aarons.”

“A commission or just wants to see what’s available?” Cora asked without looking up from her book.

Derek sighed, “Commission. Again.”

“Aarons doesn’t take commissions,” Erica said as she wiped down the few tables they had where people can relax and drink their coffee. “Just tell them ‘no’.”

“It’s a lot of money,” Derek hedged, wondering if he could maybe take the order.

“Think about it Derek,” Isaac said gently, “Don’t just do it because you think you have to for us or Lore or anything other than you want to take it. There were reasons you decided to use an alias and _not_ take commissions.”

Derek nodded, grateful for his pack who were around when his anxiety reared its head and caused him to second guess himself. He didn’t even have to answer the email right now.

What he did need to do is go upstairs and make sure that he had something for dinner. It was pack night. He kind of wished he’d invited Stiles to come.

Cora spoke up before Derek had the chance to run away, “You should see and Stiles and his little tyke can come to pack night tonight?”

Derek frowned at her, “Did I miss the part where you can read my mind?”

Cora waggled her eyebrows with a smirk, “Don’t need to read your mind, don’t even need to read your chemosignals to know you want to invite him and the rest of the pack is going to want to see him. Invite all of the McCall pack, we should be checking in with them anyway. Even if it does lead to stupid alpha posturing.”

“Good idea, I should have dealt with that awhile ago but Scott and I never did have a good time together. Maybe with Stiles there, it won’t end in bloodshed.”

“There is going to be pack cuddles and food, no bloodshed allowed,” Isaac demanded from behind the counter and back in the kitchen they used for baking goodies and making the coffee.

Erica snickered, “Maybe a little bloodshed, let the little ‘true alpha’ prove finally what we all know, that he’s not as strong as he thinks he is.”

Derek rolled his eyes, “Erica, no. We aren’t doing that, I am not going to get into a pissing contest with Scott, not now and not ever.”

Erica turned and raised a discerning eye brow.

“What?”

“You know that there is a part of you that wants to put him in his place, just a little, after all the crap he pulled when we were younger.”

Derek thought about it because they were just going to catch him in a lie if he half assed this, he didn’t want to get into a pissing contest with Scott, especially not with Stiles in the middle, he wouldn’t do that to Stiles. But also, there was no point, two alphas in Beacon Hills was going to make it stronger, it would make all of them safe and that included their children. “No, I don’t need to do that. Eri, I need you to put all that crap away, I don’t want a pissing contest with anyone, I just want this pack and our children to be safe.”

Erica nodded, pressing a hand over her stomach.

“Okay, I am going upstairs to make sure we have what we need to feed two wolf packs and I will let you know if we are going to have guests.” Derek locked up the IPad in the desk again and headed to the back where the stairs led to the first floor where he could take the lift to the top floor. He opened the door and walked into the large space. He dropped his jacket on one of the chairs and leaned down to take off his shoes before walking back to the kitchen, phone in hand. He opened the text conversation he’s started with Stiles and sent a quick text.

_D: Hey, I don’t know if you are available but my pack is having dinner and movie night tonight at my place. It was the loft back in the day. Everyone is invited if they are available. Just maybe bring a side dish, feeding wolves is no joke._

With that sent, Derek started the two crock pots and started adding ingredients for chicken and vegetables and one with pork. Once they were set to simmering, he checked the pantry to make a list of what he would need for tonight, there was enough for popcorn (freshly popped) and soda (because some things are supposed to taste fake) for during the movie. He would make some dessert after he picked Lore up from school and they had enough for some large salads.

His phone buzzed as he was heading downstairs for his shift before school let out, so Erica and her two guys could have some time together because apparently Derek was a pushover. He pulled the phone out to see the text notification from Stiles.

_S: Sounds great, just so you know Hanna knows about werewolves but I don’t think she realizes that you are one. Its up to you but she is used to being around them even though Scott and the baby betas are really careful usually._

Derek thought about that and responded.

_D: I’m kind of surprised and not at all surprised at the same time that your daughter already knows about the supernatural._

_S: Why both?_

Derek stepped into the shop and Erica, Isaac and Boyd took the opportunity to leave as soon as possible. Derek looked up to see Ethan was behind the coffee counter, he nodded to the beta. Jackson and Ethan were staying in Beacon Hills for at least another month before heading back to London.

Derek settled down in one of the comfy chairs in the book nook and went back to the text app to respond.

_D: I guess when it came to your dad, you hid the truth to keep him safe, maybe I thought you would do the same with your child. And I am not surprised because she’s probably smart enough to figure it out on her own._

_S: I’m sure she would have figured it out, she’s tenacious when something doesn’t make sense but I didn’t want to make the same mistakes that I made with Dad, also Scott is not the subtlest of people and he’s basically married to Kira who is also not subtle._

Derek snorted at that and he could feel the pack’s eyes on him. He ignored them. He thought back to the little girl that had her body wrapped around Lore’s form in the parking lot and thought, yeah he should have guessed she was a Stilinski. From what he’d seen of her, she’s smart and clutzy, able to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable positions and yes tenacious. She had been to the loft once or twice and immediately latched onto questioning every single pack member. But Stiles had been really good about telling her what to say and not to say. He wouldn’t be surprised if she at least suspected them of being werewolves.

He thought about the questions she did ask and smiled.

_D: I’m pretty sure she realizes that Erica, Isaac and Boyd are all together though I don’t think she understands what that means._

_S: She met them?!?!?!_

_D: Yeah, she’s been here a few times to visit with Lore, I promise you will get to see them. Okay? And there really is no need for so many exclamation and question marks._

_S: How dare you sir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Derek laughed at the response and Cora groaned, “Come on Der, just tell him you are in love with him and get it over with. For all our sakes.”

“Shut it Core,” Derek said cheerfully.

Cora gagged playfully and went back to what she was doing, writing something in a journal. Probably finished the book already. She enjoyed writing basically college level papers on the books she reads, for no reason at all other than enjoyment. She even used MLA style excerpts and Derek rolled his eyes hardcore the first time he saw it but now he’s used to it and thinks she should go back to school to finish her degree.

His phone jangled with another message and he looked down to see the text.

_S: I’m glad I will get to see all of them, when they left it hurt all of us._

Derek sobered, thinking about the alpha pack and how Erica’s family left town because they thought their newly healthy daughter was being bullied at the school and no one was helping her. Boyd didn’t have much in the way of family so he followed her. Isaac stayed but mostly because he was obsessed with Scott while Scott had just been using his friendship and crush to niggle at Derek and take his only remaining beta away from him. When Allison and her dad went to Europe, he chose to go with them. Allison was still there, Derek thought. He only really knew that because Isaac kept up some contact with her.

Argent wasn’t thrilled about Allison’s continued connection to the pack, especially after Victoria’s death but he understood better than most that he’d been indoctrinated and was trying to give werewolves the benefit of the doubt. That didn’t mean he wanted to be in the town that killed his father, sister and wife—no matter how shitty they were as people.

His phone buzzed and he realized he’d been staring at it for quite a while.

_S: I didn’t mean to break you there, Sourwolf._

Derek tapped out a reply.

_D: Not broken, just sad too. It was tough for all of us. I wasn’t ready to be an Alpha. I swear I am better now._

_S: I can’t wait to see that. Truly. Well, I am getting the stink eye from my boss AKA my father so I will see you tonight._

_D: See you tonight._

With that, Derek went back to the emails, purchases that he would have to wrap, pack and ship out. He took care of three orders that were going to pay enough to give everyone a little bonus at the end of the week which was nice. Derek never really considered being an art gallery owner but there was money in it but also a sense of giving something beautiful to someone else. And really, wanting to remain anonymous was the whole reason it happened in the first place. He’d started out in other people’s galleries in the different places he’d been to but he didn’t want to continue doing that because of all the work it took to dedicate his time to one gallery. So instead he committed to his own space but continued using the pseudonym and owned the gallery locations under the Hale name. No one seemed to be the wiser, yet.

He had never lied to his pack about it thankfully (not that they would have believed the lie anyway) and they had always been supportive of his choices about it. Here in Beacon Hills, the choice to have a coffee spot and a book nook was to make sure that everyone had something they enjoyed doing and honestly to fill up the space. The store was not a small space. And he would be willing to do a lot to make sure they were all happy together.

When it was time to go get Lore from school, Erica and Boyd were in the store to cover and Cora was upstairs in her apartment, finally deciding not to loiter while she read. Derek got in the car and drove over to the school, waiting in the pick up line while he looked around for Stiles. Lore and Hanna were standing together and it looked like the Sheriff was on pick up duty. Derek pulled over to park and jogged across the lot to where Noah was talking to one of the teachers, animated and happy.

“Daddy!” Lore squealed excitedly and they all turned to look. Noah smiled and Derek nodded to the other man.

“Hey little one, how was your day?” Derek asked as he picked Lore up and she shrieked excitedly before he put her down. He was going to take advantage of her still letting him do that, all the parenting blogs said she was going to turn into a moody pre-teen any time now and he was not looking forward to that. Hanna watched them both with her discerning green eyes.

Green eyes, similar to Derek’s but lighter around the edges. They were light like Noah’s eyes were instead of dark like her father’s eyes. Genetics were very cool.

“Derek? Nice to see you,” Noah said graciously. His smile was genuine and he wasn’t lying, Stiles must have told him when he found out that Hanna’s best friend turned out to be none other than Derek Hale’s daughter.

“You as well Sheriff.”

“I hear Stiles and the others have been invited over for a dinner thing?” Noah asked.

Derek nodded, “You are more than welcome to come as well Sheriff. I’m sure everyone would be thrilled to see you.”

“You say that like I haven’t caught Reyes and her two guys at the make out points already.”

Derek snorted, looking away in circumstantial embarrassment, “So, yeah, there is that.”

“And Mr. Whittemore has come in to apologize for all the crap that went down when they were younger, even asking if the restraining order against Scott and Stiles could be expunged from their records.”

Derek nodded, “That was nice of him.”

“We all know now that something much stranger than kidnapping was going on at the time but sadly, I can’t take it out of their records but because it happened when they were underage at least it won’t affect them in most cases. I was surprised as well. I did recommend that he speak to his father about it but who knows if he will.”

Hanna grabbed her grandfather’s hand, “What’s a restraining order Pop-Pop?”

“Its when someone is legally grounded from seeing someone.”

Hanna scrunched up her nose and hugged Lore’s arm, thinking about what it would be like to be grounded away from her bestie.

“What is Hanna’s dad do to Uncle Jax anyway?” Lore asked.

Derek and Noah shared a look, “We’ll have to tell that story some other time.” Derek said and reached his hand out to Lore. “We have to go back to the store before we head home, you ready to go?”

Lore nodded, “Is Hanna and her dad coming over tonight?”

Derek nodded, “I invited them both as well as some of their close friends that I knew back when we were younger.”

Lore clapped, hugged and scented Hanna a little before she started dragging Derek away from the Stilinski family. He allowed it, used to being run roughshod by his daughter and his pack.

“Do we have popcorn and soda for pack night?” Lore asked once they were in the car.

“We’re going to the store for a few things, Lore, but there isn’t any reason to go crazy.”

“Except that we live with a bunch of hungry werewolves.”

Derek laughed and nodded, making sure she was buckled into her spot before getting into the driver’s seat. He headed out of the lot and towards the store.

“Does Hanna know about werewolves? Did you talk to her dad about us?”

“Sweetie, Hanna grew up with werewolves, Stiles isn’t a wolf but he has friends who were bitten when they were teenagers.” Derek looked in the review mirror at Lore who was watching him closely, “You have done such a good job protecting our secrets but you don’t have to with Hanna anymore. She already knows and she was taught by Stiles to protect us, she will. No doubt.”

“I trust her Daddy, because I know her. Why do you trust her?”

Derek smiled, “I trust her because I trust Stiles, he protected me before he knew anything about me. He’ll do whatever is necessary to protect the pack.”

Lore smiled, grinned was more accurate, looking out the window and swinging her legs a little while they made the rest of the trip to the store.

They finished at the store and went back to the shop; Lore was out of the vehicle before he had a chance to turn off the car. Derek grabbed the bags and walked them inside, where Boyd and Isaac were there to help him take everything upstairs while Cora and Lore were snuggling down into one of the chairs to chat together. Erica was behind the counter. Derek nodded to the others and took everything upstairs to start getting set up for the pack night. Lore was in good hands while he got everything ready.

Stiles grabbed Hanna’s bag from inside his Dad’s office before motioning her off the couch. Hanna smiled and grabbed the rest of her stuff, “Honey, we gotta get home so I am can get changed and we can go over to Lore and Derek’s party tonight. C’mon love.”

Hanna gave the sheriff a smacking kiss on the cheek before they headed out through to the front of the station. Several of the deputies on shift waved to Hanna, much like Stiles after his mother died Hanna had grown up knowing the people in this building better than the ones she went to school with. They were her family the same way they were Stiles’s family.

“We will see you later Parrish,” Stiles called out to the other man, he was more than a deputy and less than the Sheriff and much like he was when Stiles first met him, Parrish seemed positively thrilled with his lot in life. He was pack so he was invited to the party.

Stiles bundled Hanna into his off-duty vehicle, there were some deputies that drove their vehicles back and forth to him, his father included but Stiles didn’t like the idea of putting that much attention on his home, not when he was already one of Beacon Hill’s more exciting residents.

They headed back to the house, he’d already gotten a couple things at the store on his lunch break to take to Derek’s and they were just heading home to shower and change.

Stiles got through his shower quickly, while Hanna was eating a quick snack and ended up in front of his closet, wondering what the hell he was going to wear to this thing to impress Derek but not seem like he was trying to be impressive.

Jackson was going to be there, after all and Stiles wasn’t going to sit through that sort of rancor.

Not when he didn’t want to start any fights between their two packs.

Stiles settled on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were loose enough on his belly fat (he really needed to get back to the gym) but still form fitting and a black t-shirt and a dark flannel over that. It was similar to what he liked to wear when he was a teenager but not as out there ‘awkward’ that became obvious when Stiles looked at old pictures of himself. It also wasn’t two sizes two big.

When Stiles went away to University, before Heather and Hanna, he decided that he was okay with changing how he dressed and presented himself but honoring who he was then and now. This was how he did it. Also it would probably make Derek smile.

Derek smiling has got to be one of the highlights of Stiles’s bisexual life, and his laugh, seriously was like heart boner city. Derek Hale wasn’t a person that knew how to laugh or smile very much when Stiles knew him before, and he had every right to struggle with contentment or happiness but it seemed like the time away and having Lorelai was enough for him to find some peace, enough to laugh and smile at least. Stiles hoped he could add to that in Derek’s life.

Except for the times when Derek was playing antagonist to Scott’s protagonist schtick, Stiles had always figured that Derek deserved nice things. Maybe he could be one of those things.

“Tata are you about ready? I want to see Lore!”

Stiles smiled, “You just saw her a couple hours ago, less than that actually.”

“She’s my _UNCLE SCOTT!!_ ” was her only response and Stiles shrugged, kid had a point, inspite of the fact that they were both parents and Scott and Stiles didn’t see each other as often as they did when they were younger, pack nights and family get togethers were still a thing they did and Hanna knew better than anyone how important Scott was to Stiles.

“Okay, I’m coming,” Stiles responded as he grabbed his light jacket and headed downstairs. Hanna was already by the door, with her hand on the knob, shoes and jacket already on and a look on her face that said very clearly how done she was with him. Yeesh, she was intense sometimes.

Like father, like daughter. Had no one to blame but himself on that own.

Stiles finished putting his shoes while Hanna grabbed his keys and rushed outside to start the car. She came back in for the food they were taking over just as he was shrugging into his jacket and she urged him out in front of her.

“You need to calm down kiddo. This isn’t that intense, believe it or not. This is just dinner and movie night with some friends.”

Hanna frowned at him, “No, Tata, it’s more than that. This is the first time Lore and I are going to get to be completely honest about everything. We don’t have to lie anymore.”

Stiles nodded as he made sure that Hanna was buckled into her seat before climbing into the driver’s seat. He figured Hanna was smart and informed enough that she would have figured out the Hales were werewolves but she also knew not to ‘out’ any supernaturals she found or thought she found. Because of the way she was raised Hanna knew how to be subtle enough that it was possible that Lore and Hanna both knew the truth but because of family secrets and rules about dealing with supernatural people – especially supernatural children – meant that they were bound to keep their mouths shut.

The drive over to the address Derek gave him was familiar and not at the same time, it was the same place but not at all the same. Partially because in the past years Beacon Hills has done a lot to revitalize certain areas of the town and now that hunters and the supernatural were constantly fighting over the same spaces, they’d been able to stop the mass exodus of people who couldn’t handle being there anymore. It created income to revitalize those spaces and now there were less places for baddies to hide out.

Derek still owned the loft and its building when he left so Stiles guessed that at least some of the rebuilding happened before they came back and the shop was a relatively new business, Stiles hadn’t heard of it but that wasn’t unheard of. It was a building with a store front and several stories above that. Hanna was making this happy squeal that she does when she’s delighted but doesn’t want to hurt werewolf ears.

“Hale Coffee Emporium, that had to been named by someone other than Derek.”

Hanna giggled, “Why?”

“He doesn’t really like having his name on anything. And ‘emporium’ isn’t really a Derek word.”

“Well then let’s go ask,” Hanna unbuckled herself and jumped out as soon as Stiles had the car in park. She rushed to the front door and someone opened it just in time to catch her in a little spin. Stiles smiled as he grabbed the food and walked over as well, “Cora!” he grinned.

Derek’s younger and only living sibling put Hanna back on her feet and wrapped Stiles in a quick and tight hug, Stiles wrapped his free hand around her middle and shoved his nose into her shoulder with just a slight whimper. He didn’t mean for the noise to come out but it was deep in his throat and he couldn’t stop it.

Cora pressed a hand to the back of his head and pressed her nose to the side of his face. Stiles gripped her just a little more for a moment and listened as the door opened again and Hanna and Lore started chattering as they walked inside, leaving Stiles and Cora to their reunion.

“I’m sorry we didn’t call and tell you we were back in Beacon Hills.”

Stiles shook his head and they started to release each other, “No you don’t owe me anything. I can’t believe you’re all here. I can’t believe I get to see you guys again.”

Cora pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and pulled him into the shop. Stiles looked around as best he could while he was being dragged towards the back of space and up some stairs.

“Place looks nice, what I saw of it.”

Cora laughed, “You will have plenty of time to see the shop, there are some other people who want to see you now.”

Stiles allowed her to keep dragging him until they stopped in front of a door on the top floor. Hanna and Lore most have already run inside because he can hear them amid the chatter.

Cora opened the door and familiar yet different faces were all around him. Stiles’s gaze caught on Erica’s smiling face it was a little rounder than it was when she was younger. Isaac and Boyd were there, in close proximity to Erica, Jackson and Ethan were in the kitchen with Derek and the girls. None of the local Beacon Hills people were here yet and Stiles wasn’t really surprised since he knew he was earlier than the rest because of personal reasons.

The conversations petered out and everyone just stared at him with smiles spread on their faces. Stiles handed the food over to Cora who took it to the kitchen while Stiles stepped closer to Erica and the boys. She was the first of them to move, coming over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

“Hey Catwoman,” Stiles whispered.

“Hey Robin,” she responded and Stiles scoffed.

“Hey now, I am Batman and you know it.”

“Yeah,” Erica whispered into the skin of his cheek and she rubbed her nose back and forth, taking a deep breath of his scent. Stiles always used to worry and wonder about what they were sniffing on him, now after so many years living and being around werewolves have taught him not to ask and just enjoy what it meant, Stiles was important to these people and he was trusted.

Erica pulled back after another couple of seconds of scent marking and Stiles reached out to fist bump with Isaac and give a nod to Boyd. Then he headed over to the kitchen and quickly enveloped Derek into a hug. Like the first time, Derek embraced the contact and though Stiles thoroughly enjoyed the snarky Derek of old, this Derek was amazing and exactly the kind of person Stiles wouldn’t mind having in his life. For the rest of his life.

Derek and Stiles pulled out of the embrace and Stiles nodded to Ethan and Jackson who were both smiling at him. “Nice to see you Whittemore, Ethan, glad I got to see you before you headed back to the UK.”

Jackson nodded with a smirk, “I had to see what kind of little gremlin you produced, she does not disappoint.”

Hanna giggled, “Dad, tell him I am not a gremlin, you can get me wet and I can eat after midnight without turning into a monster.”

Stiles gestured to Jackson, “Well there you have it, schooled by the kid.”

“There has got to be some kind of rule about what to let your children watch, I mean just on merit alone,” Jackson returned with a shake of his head.

Hanna waved Jackson off before she ran off towards one of the rooms with Lore leading the way and Stiles grinned at her retreating back, “I could have told you that she argues just like I do.”

Jackson shrugged, “Nah, more fun this way. She’s a good kid, you’re clearly a good father.”

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, looking down and away with embarrassment. It may be stupid but even after all these years, wanting to be approved of by the ‘cool kids’ like Jackson and Lydia was still this tiny part of the awkward kid that Stiles was in school, “Thanks.”

“Okay, stop being nice Jax, you’re freaking everyone out,” Cora exclaimed and everyone laughed, breaking the odd tension of the moment. Stiles helped Derek and Isaac get all the food laid out and the other McCall pack members started to show it. Apparently only a few of them were able to make the party on short notice but thankfully Scott, Kira and their three kids were among them. Stiles knew that Derek and Scott had always rubbed each other the wrong way but he was hoping that they could leave that behind.

When Scott walked in, he hugged Isaac and Erica, shared a fist bump with Boyd and Jackson and waved to Ethan before he walked over to Derek and flashed his red eyes and Derek did the same. Stiles got up from where he was sitting, getting ready to intervene when Scott grinned and pulled an unsuspecting Derek into a tight hug.

“Gotta say man,” Scott said even as he was still hugging the other alpha, “It’s going to be great having you back. It’s been quiet here but I would love for it to stay that way.”

Stiles and Derek shared a baffled look before Derek patted Scott on the back and smiled, “Thank you so much for coming, hopefully pack nights between our two packs will become a habit.”

“Sounds great,” Kira exclaimed as she got in her hugs with Derek and everyone else that she knew. Introductions were made and the children all rushed off to spend some time with Lore and Hanna. Lydia wasn’t able to make it, she had a full workload the next day and wasn’t able to get anything done because Stella was sick, she sent her regards and a basket of wine to the door in her absence. Liam and Mason were both able to make it and Parrish stopped by as well while everyone was sitting down to eat.

They were sitting down to their second movie when Derek leaned in really close and whispered in Stiles’s ear, “I don’t know how to say this but Lore and Hanna are apparently planning to lock us in a bedroom together because they want to be sisters.”

Stiles snorted and choked a little on the popcorn he was eating and everyone turned to stare at them in surprise. There did seem to be enough knowing wiggles and giggles from some of the wolves that they either heard the girls or they heard Derek and Stiles coughed again to clear his airway while Derek rubbed his back gently.

“I’m just going to say this,” Cora said even while a couple of people were shushing her, “Let them.”

Derek spoke up loud enough that even Hanna would be able to hear in the other room, though Stiles figured at least one of the children were listening with their ear pressed to the other side of the door since apparently, they were playing unwitting matchmaker in there. “I’ll show you in the other room, it’s a really nice collection. I figured you would love it Stiles.”

Stiles played along, “Great, we’ll be back in a bit everyone.”

Erica and Cora snickered behind their cupped hands while Kira and Parrish stared at all of them like they were nuts, the rest of the people in the room were purposefully paying no attention to them.

Derek got up and Stiles followed him, feeling warmth spreading through his belly and chest as they went into Derek’s bedroom and before they could even _speak,_ someone slammed the door shut and thumped against it.

“Lore, what’s going on?” Derek asked, feigning ignorance. Stiles smiled, covering his mouth as he leaned against the wall across from the door and looked around for a moment, loving the earthy tones of the bedspread and the paint on the walls before looking back at Derek who was watching him closely.

“Daddy, you and Stiles are going to stay in there until you kiss and decide to date. Hanna and I think you make a really great couple and we want to be sisters!”

Derek sighed, “Lore, you know you can’t keep us in here honey.”

“I got the rest of the pack to help, Scott’s pack too.”

Stiles didn’t know if that was true or not, the others seemed pretty great ignoring the romantic tension between Stiles and Derek. He pointed to Derek then the door, trying to mime ‘ _Is that true?’_ but Derek just frowned and continued talking to his daughter.

“Even with their help, you can’t just force Stiles and I to get married and make you sisters with Hanna. That’s not how it works, love.”

“Well I guess you are going to stay in there for a long time then,” Lore said, making it clear this wasn’t up for debate.

“You do realize if we did get married, our packs and homes would be run by those two little tyrants,” Stiles whispered and he could hear someone laughing from the living room, though he didn’t really know if they were laughing at his comment or the situation at large. Didn’t really matter at the moment.

Derek turned to Stiles, taking a few steps closer while he spoke to Lore again, “Well honey, you need to give Dad and Stiles some privacy if you want us to talk okay? No listening in, right?”

“Right!” she shouted exuberantly, like she’d somehow convinced them and was thrilled with the win.

Stiles rolled his eyes at the man and the situation even as his stomach clenched at the thought of what Derek was going to do as he kept getting closer and closer.

“I know that we just reconnected and everything but I have been wanting to kiss you since coffee the other day. Would you be okay with that?”

Stiles swallowed and opened his mouth on a sigh, “I think that would be fine as long as it doesn’t lead to a marriage proposal right away. Deal?”

“So are you thinking like six weeks before the proposal then? Two weeks? What kind of time do you need?” Derek whispered with a grin as he stepped up close enough that their chest brushed each other with each breath. Stiles reached out and placed a wavering hand on Derek’s shoulder, leaning in close enough that he could feel the warm air on his lips from Derek’s mouth whispering, “At least a week.”

Derek chuckled at that and Stiles dove for the other man’s lips, clanking their teeth together painfully for a second before it evened out into something smoother. And wetter.

They went on their first date three days later and Stiles proposed with a Ring Pop, making them both laugh and Stiles fell a little more in love with the man. Actually getting married would take some time but for now, Derek wore his Ring Pop the entire night.


End file.
